Wednesday, October 3, 2012

bread

Back around Christmas time I bought ourselves a Zojirushi breadmaking machine for a Christmas present.

Unlike so many other gadgets I buy, this one is actually being put to good use. I started making bread right after Christmas and am still making bread to this very day.

The first efforts didn't turn out too good. That very first loaf came out decidedly lopsided and dry. After a few tries, and making slight adjustments to the ingredients, the loaves got much better. Now, most of them are looking and tasting really, really good. Much better than store-bought.

I'm not very imaginative, though - aside from a couple of raisin loaves that we gave away, everything else has been whole wheat seven grain bread. Not that I am not adventurous, but I am trying to be healthy. The bread comes out really tasty.

Many of the reviews for the breadmaker caution the user to make sure and precisely follow the directions, including the measurements, and don't get careless. So when it says add one cup of this, then make sure it is exactly one cup of this, and not about one cup of this.

Well, I wound up adding just a bit more water than called for by the recipe, as well as substituting honey for the powdered sugar. Both make obvious improvements in texture and taste. I also add some wheat gluten that helps the texture as well. Thankfully I am not gluten-challenged.

The machine is so easy to use. Just add the ingredients into the bread pan, set the pan in the machine, close the lid, program the machine, and then press the start button. The machine does the rest. Amazing.. the bread comes out so tasty.

Here's a couple of pictures of the machine. I neglected to take a picture of the latest loaf but take my word for it, it came out nice.

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